It has international sales of $122 billion, is 76 in the Fortune 500 index and is 92% owned by a charitable trust.

One of Bosch’s challenges is the likelihood that many of the goods it makes will be superseded by services. For example, will a homeowner buy a drill or pay for the service to create the hole it makes?

Mr Smith said Bosch had reshaped itself, understanding there was no role model for digital transformation. Part of its response had been to create a “cloud” for Bosch products which would allow it to be a supplier of services as well as goods.

This included products that ranged from running home and office heating to climate sensing and keeping track of trade tools.

He praised the value of openness between suppliers and customers. “Collaboration is the new black.” And he advocated “aspirational planning” which encouraged businesses to focus on what they wanted to achieve rather than the steps they believed they could take to achieve it.

In the same session, the Suncorp Group Chief Financial Officer, Mr Steve Johnston, listed his observations of how his business (which includes Australia’s fifth largest bank), was adapting to disruption.